OREANDA-NEWS. March 27, 2012. On February 17 in Vyksa (Nizhni Novgorod Region), United Metallurgical Company (OMK, Moscow) held the ninth ceremony to grant awards of the Foundation named after Ivan and Andrey Batashevs to the best employees of the Company entities based on the 2011 results.

This year, 133 candidates for Foundation awards were recommended. Of them awards were presented to 30 employees of Vyksa Steel Works, Casting and Rolling Complex (Nizhni Novgorod Region), Almetyevsk Pipe Plant (Republic of Tatarstan), Trubodetal (Chelyabinsk), and OMK Head Office (Moscow).

Awards were granted in the following 10 categories: Best Pipe Specialist, Best Metallurgist, Best Worker, Best Maintenance Specialist, Best Engineer, Best Young Specialist, Best Professional, Best Foreman, Best Manager, and Best Project Manager.

In addition, for the fourth time in the Award history, the Expert Committee, chaired by Anatoly Sedykh, Chairman of the OMK Board of Directors and President of the Batashev Foundation, decided to grant the Foundation’s supreme award—First Prize and Gold Medal. Based on the 2011 results, the supreme award went to Director of the OMK Center for Prospective Technological Development Aleksandr Rybkin for successful implementation of the project for construction and launch of the Mill 5000 Metallurgical Facility based in Vyksa. OMK-Project Executive Director Andrey Kukhno received Second Prize of the Foundation and Silver Medal for a substantial contribution to the development of OMK business and implementation of large-scale and unique projects.

“Over the past seven years, Vyksa became one of the world’s most state-of-the-art metallurgical centers,” emphasized Chairman of the OMK Board of Directors Anatoly Sedykh at the award ceremony. “OMK is the region’s largest taxpayer. Our efforts make our nation richer. It seems strange to hear some candidates say that not a single plant has been built in Russia in recent years. I would like to invite them over here to show them our three new plants created over the past seven years. You know, I am proud that our mottos—We Are Building Plants and We Are Creating New Russia—are consistent with our deeds. Thank you! I wish you new achievements and success!”

The awards were presented by OMK executives, representatives of the authorities and the business community, and well-known scientists and workers of culture. Among them were Governor of the Nizhni Novgorod Region Valery Shantsev; President of the State Central Museum of Contemporary History of Russia Tamara Shumnaya, Honoured Worker of Culture of the Russian Federation; Rainer Graefe, a Professor at the Institute of Architectural Theory and the History of Building of the University of Innsbruck; cosmonaut Sergey Krikalev, Hero of the Soviet Union and Russia; Dmitry Livanov, Rector of the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys; Director of the Fonograf jazz band Sergey Zhilin, Honored Artist of Russia; and others.

The Foundation named after the Batashev brothers, the founders of the Vyksa Steel Works, was established in October 2003 by OMK's shareholders to encourage the best employees of VSW. From 2009, the Batashev Foundation Awards are presented to employees of the OMK entities for excellence in production and R&D activities and a substantial contribution to the Company's development.

Winners are given cash bonuses, honorary certificates, and awards. For this year, the Foundation Award represents a figurine of a unicorn, featuring on the Batashev family’s coat-of-arms and symbolizing power, progress, and determination.